Appendicitis: The Etiology, Hygenic and Dietetic Treatment — John Shaqi
Appendicitis: The Etiology, Hygenic and Dietetic TreatmentTilden, J. H. (John Henry)
Science
Appendicitis: The Etiology, Hygenic and Dietetic Treatment
Tilden, J. H. (John Henry)
Appendicitis
"The examiner, standing at the patient's right, begins the search
for the appendix by applying two, three, or four fingers of his
right hand, palm surface downward, almost flat upon the abdomen, at
or near the umbilicus. While now he draws the examining fingers over
the abdomen in a straight line from the umbilicus to the anterior
superior spine of the right ileum, he notices successively the
character of the various structures as they come beneath and escape
from the fingers passing over them. _In doing this the pressure
exerted must be deep enough to recognize distinctly, along the whole
route traversed by the examining fingers, the resistant surfaces of
the posterior abdominal wall and of the pelvic brim. _Only in this
way can we positively feel the normal or the slightly enlarged
appendix; pressure short of this must necessarily fail.
"Palpation with pressure short of reaching the posterior wall fails
to give us any information of value; the soft and yielding
structures simply glide away from the approaching finger. When,
however, these same structures are compressed between the posterior
abdominal wall, and the examining fingers, they are recognized with
a fair degree of distinctness. _Pressure deep enough to recognize
distinctly the posterior abdominal wall, the pelvic brim and the
structures lying between them and the examining finger forms the
whole secret of success in the practice of palpation of the
vermiform appendix."_
Can there be any wonder that this disease is so fulminating in the
hands of the average medical man or can there be any surprise at the
death rate? If such an examination were given to a well man and
repeated as frequently as in the average appendicitis case, I say
that the well man would soon suffer from some severe disease induced
by bruising.
When appendicitis or typhlitis ends in an abscess, and the pus sac
is ruptured by meddlesome, unskilled treatment, scientific or
otherwise, causing the pus to burrow toward the groin, surgery is
the only treatment; there is no hope of recovery in such a case
without establishing thorough drainage, and this means skilled
surgical treatment. It will positively be a miracle if such a
patient recovers without an operation. I have seen these cases
linger for two, three, and even five years. The type of cases that
lingers so long is one that has an imperfect drainage, either into
the bowels or through a fistulous outside opening.
What per cent of cases is of this type? That is hard to tell for the
world is full of unskilled, heavy-handed manipulators.
I have seen quite a number of this type who had been brought into
this unnecessary state by bungling doctors who were treating them
for typhoid fever and its complications.
I say without fear of successful contradiction that there never was
and never will be such a case unless it is made so by the worst sort
of malpractice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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